Paper Number
ICIS2026-3540
Paper Type
Panel
Abstract
Outer Space has received hardly any attention from the IS field to this day. This lack of engagement is surprising. After all, SpaceTech, an offspring of the cybernetic revolution, is a truly digital-born domain of human endeavor. Likewise, the success of the Artemis II mission not only reignited imaginaries about humanity’s future but also escalated the race to dominate Outer Space. Finally, with the invention of reusable rockets, SpaceTech is transforming from a centralized, government-led industry to a New Space Economy marked by loosely coupled innovation ecosystems. In this purview, SpaceTech is becoming a new all-purpose platform comparable to the Internet in terms of its impact on innovation, governance, organization, and other areas of IS research. Against this backdrop, the panel discusses how Outer Space, a radically hostile environment, pushes IS research and practice to their epistemological, conceptual, methodological, and ethical limits. By way of discussion, the panel explores how IS can contribute to a more equitable, responsible, and sustainable New Space Economy.
Recommended Citation
Márton, Attila; Schecter, Aaron; Robert, Lionel Peter; You, Sangseok; Baiyere, Abayomi; and Seidel, Stefan, "Information Systems in Outer Space: Imaginaries and Realities of the New Space Economy" (2026). ICIS 2026 Proceedings. 3.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2026/panels/Panels/3
Information Systems in Outer Space: Imaginaries and Realities of the New Space Economy
Outer Space has received hardly any attention from the IS field to this day. This lack of engagement is surprising. After all, SpaceTech, an offspring of the cybernetic revolution, is a truly digital-born domain of human endeavor. Likewise, the success of the Artemis II mission not only reignited imaginaries about humanity’s future but also escalated the race to dominate Outer Space. Finally, with the invention of reusable rockets, SpaceTech is transforming from a centralized, government-led industry to a New Space Economy marked by loosely coupled innovation ecosystems. In this purview, SpaceTech is becoming a new all-purpose platform comparable to the Internet in terms of its impact on innovation, governance, organization, and other areas of IS research. Against this backdrop, the panel discusses how Outer Space, a radically hostile environment, pushes IS research and practice to their epistemological, conceptual, methodological, and ethical limits. By way of discussion, the panel explores how IS can contribute to a more equitable, responsible, and sustainable New Space Economy.
Comments
25_Panels